Carry On Dancing
by Yugure
Summary: Lina and Zelgadis, at a party they'd rather not attend, show the world who the REAL lord and lady of the dance are. LZ


Author Notes: This contains a Lina/Zel bias (surprise! It didn't actually start out that way!). Also, take note that I know next to nothing about dances and the moves, so there may be some mistakes. This ball is like a cross between something in the Slayers time frame and something more modern. Also, the second half of the fic is a songfic, set to the song "Carry On Dancing" by Savage Garden, which was the inspiration for this story. I suggest listening to it before and/or during reading this fic. I do not own Slayers' characters or Savage Garden's song.

* * *

"I HATE dresses!" Lina shouted at the top of her lungs. Amelia cringed, pulling her hands away from the raving sorceress in case Lina decided to bite. _She's done stranger things_, Amelia thought.  
"But Miss Lina, the ball is formal wear! You have to wear a dress!" the princess said. Lina glared at her.  
"I'll wear a tuxedo if I have to but I REFUSE to wear a dress!" she exclaimed. She turned towards the seamstresses, who were cowering in the corner of the room. "Make me a tux!"  
"But what?!" Lina demanded.  
"... Ladies aren't supposed to wear tuxedos," another finished.  
"They're right, Miss Lina. Please, for me." Amelia tentatively put her hand on Lina's shoulder. "We can find a really nice dress that suits you."  
"Amelia..." Lina clenched her fists around the soft pink material that billowed out around her, looking more like a tent than a dress on her slim figure. "There is not a dress in the world that suits me."  
Nobody said anything. The atmosphere in the small room was heavy with tension. The team of seamstresses who normally served Amelia was backed into a corner, scared half to death by Lina's ranting and raving. They weren't used to such a violent girl...  
Amelia sighed and regarded Lina's current attire. It was painfully bright; a pink that even Amelia wouldn't dare wear. The bows, ribbons, and strands of pearls were just too much.  
Lina glared from Amelia to the huddled group in the corner. She didn't know why she agreed to try this horrendous thing on. Perhaps it was that smidgen of goodness in her that said she might as well humor her friend. Lina made a mental note to mush that smidgen into nothing the next chance she got.  
"I'm getting out of this thing. Now," Lina declared. She stalked towards the nearest door.  
"Miss Lina," Amelia said, desperate enough to resort to her last plan of action. "If you wear a dress we both find suitable, I'll pay you whatever you want!"  
Silence. But Lina's ears had perked at the mention of "pay." Slowly the sorceress turned around.  
"Whatever I want?" she repeated.  
"Within reason," Amelia amended.  
"Fine." The smile on Lina's face was downright evil. "I'll be back in a minute and we can find something." The redhead disappeared into the room. Amelia sighed heavily.  
"I only hope we have enough money in the treasury to cover this expense," she said.

After three hours of store-hopping, 12 different seamstresses, two stops at the local café, and 24 seriously pissed storeowners, Lina and Amelia had settled on a dress. Amelia loved it and Lina only grudgingly admitted it was acceptable.  
The dress was dark blue like the twilight sky. It was even studded with tiny rhinestones, resembling the stars at night. The bodice was heart-shaped, and the skirt flowed out from the waist to end at about knee-height.  
Lina scratched the back of her neck where the straps came together in a small bow. With her luck she was developing some kind of rash.  
"I guess this is okay," she admitted reluctantly. Amelia's smile was brighter than the sun as she ran to the counter to pay. The harried seamstress who had last worked on Lina ran out the door screaming something about how the gods must be punishing her for some evil deed her in past life. Lina watched her go with a small smile on her lips. If nothing else good came from this misbegotten piece of cloth, it was at least fun giving the seamstresses hell.  
"Okay Miss Lina, change out and let's head back home!" Amelia said, returning to Lina.  
"Right," Lina agreed, and went to change her clothes.

"FOOD!" was Lina's first coherent word since the Slayers group had gotten to the ball. It was the day after Lina and Amelia's dress-capade, the day of the party. As part of the Seyruun family and, thus, organizer of the ball, Amelia had to help with the opening ceremonies. Lina waited impatiently for her to finish, then took off like a bullet as the party commenced. Two blurs were seen heading for the buffet table, one being Lina and the other being Gourry.  
"Leave all this food to me, Gourry!" Lina shouted to the blonde swordsman. "There's not enough here for the both of us!"  
"No, I can't do that, Lina!" Gourry replied, busy loading up a plate full of food.  
"Sure you can! Just like you can give me the Hikari no Ken, right?"  
"Uhh... I can?" Gourry paused and scratched his chin, confused. Lina smiled brightly.  
"Of course! Go dance with Sylphiel or something! I'll take the food and the Hikari no Ken." She chomped down on drumstick.  
"No!" Gourry suddenly realized the trick Lina was playing. "Very funny, Lina. I'm just as hungry as you are."  
"Well, stay away from my side, got that?" Lina replied. She grinned down at the food before her. My, how lovely this shrimp tempura looks tonight... she thought, rubbing her hands together. She was about to reach for plate when-  
"Konnichiwa, Lina-chan!" a cheery voice said from her side. Lina turned, startled. Xelloss, looking simply smashing in a black tux, smiled at her.  
"Xelloss! You were invited?" Lina asked. Figuring Xelloss wasn't enough to stop her from eating, she proceeded to fill up her plate.  
"Well, not exactly..."  
"Either you were or you weren't."  
"Then I was. I invited myself, therefore I am invited."  
Lina rolled her eyes and sat down at the nearest table. "Twisted logic, Mazoku."  
"It's what I know best," was the cheerful reply.  
"Now do you mind? I'm busy eating. Go away," Lina said.  
"I came to ask you a favor, Lina-chan."  
"Do I want to know?"  
"That depends. How do you feel about dancing?"  
Lina stopped eating. Dancing? Dancing?! Oh, she hated dancing. She wasn't bad, exactly. As a matter of fact, she was incredibly good. But who wanted to dance when there was all this lovely food to eat?  
"I don't plan on it, Xelloss."  
"Oh." The Trickster Priest faked a hurt expression. "Then you won't save a dance for me?"  
"Well... ask me later." Lina went back to eating. Gourry took the seat across from her. "Didn't I tell you that you can't have my food, Gourry?"  
"It's not only yours, Lina," Gourry pointed out.  
"Whatever."  
The Mazoku, feeling ignored and bored, faded out, presumably to go cause trouble and mischief somewhere else.

Social scenes. It was what Zelgadis hated the most. He couldn't stand the way that people were packed in like sardines, or the way they all stared at him. Especially the women. Either they were horrified or intrigued, but... no, they were always horrified; he was sure of it.  
Why had he come? Why had he agreed to be here? It was all Amelia's fault...  
Zelgadis looked over at Amelia, who was dancing with some young fellow. She asked Zel to be there, and he hadn't refused. She was so looking forward to the whole event; he didn't want to let her down. And now, **he** was the one suffering.  
"Stop staring at me," he growled under his breath as a couple passed him. The girl must have heard him, for she blushed and pulled her partner away. "I hate people."  
"Do you really, Zelly-chan?" an obnoxious voice asked. Zelgadis didn't bother turning his head.  
"Go away, Xelloss. I have no use for your company," he said.  
"Aww, that hurt, Zelly-chan. Don't you love me anymore?" Xelloss asked in a tone of mock hurt. He sat down on the seat next to Zelgadis's. "I came here to be with you!"  
"I refuse to answer such a ridiculous question." Zelgadis sipped at the drink in his hands. "And the only reason you're here is probably to cause trouble for poor Amelia."  
"Ahh, the dear girl. She needs someone to give her attention, regardless of it being bad or good. After all, you don't seem interested in her."  
"At least you're right about something," Zelgadis said. He got up and walked away, leaving Xelloss to watch his back. The Mazoku smiled in amusement.  
"So what are you interested in, chimera? What indeed."

By the time an hour had passed, Lina had finally ventured onto the dance floor and found it to be not nearly as bad as she had imagined. She'd danced with plenty of young men, all of who didn't know her identity as Lina Inverse, Dragon Spooker or Bandit Killer. She'd danced with Gourry on several occasions, but gave up after he stepped on her foot more than five times in less than a minute. She'd even danced with Xelloss, but as soon as he started acting fruity she'd discarded him and gone to take a breather by one of the windows.  
The night breeze was mildly chilly but it felt wonderful after having been on the hot dance floor for so long. Lina smiled as she gazed up at the stars.  
"Having fun, are we?" a quiet voice asked. Lina glanced around. _Who said th-_  
"Zelgadis!" Lina exclaimed. She sat down in a chair next to the chimera and whistled as she took in his appearance. Dressed in a black tux, Zelgadis looked even more stunning than Xelloss had.  
"It's good to see you aren't in that same old beige cloak and outfit," she said. "You look pretty good in a tux."  
"You don't look so bad in a dress, either," Zelgadis replied. Lina blushed and glanced down at the folds in her skirt.  
"Yeah, well..." Lina cleared her throat and looked at Zel again. "How come I haven't seen you yet? Where have you been hiding all evening?"  
"I haven't been hiding," Zelgadis said defensively. "Just... sitting out."  
"Whatever, Zel," Lina laughed. "I know you, and I know you hate social scenes."  
"What about you? I'm sure you'd rather be on your way to your next adventure," Zelgadis replied. He gazed at the dance floor and the people swarming over it. Lina nodded her head in agreement.  
"True, but you know this meant a lot to Amelia. She really wanted us to be here with her," she replied. She watched in amusement as Gourry dragged a blushing Sylphiel onto the dance floor. Amelia was apologizing to a group of pissed off people as she dragged Xelloss away from them. Xelloss's face was bright with a self-satisfied smirk.  
Zelgadis continued to stare off into space. Lina watched his expressionless face for a long time. _He looks so lonely_, she thought. _So out of place..._ "Hey Zelgadis," she said suddenly, struck with an idea. "Wanna dance?"  
Zelgadis's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He turned to stare at Lina in disbelief.  
"Me? Dance? No way!" he exclaimed. Lina rolled her eyes.  
"Come on, it'll be fun!"  
"I don't know how to dance."  
"Everybody says that!" Lina stood up and put her hands on her hips. "I'm sure you do, you just don't want to!"  
"That's right, I don't."  
"Zelgadis!"  
"Lina, I refuse to dance." Lina and Zel glared at each other for a full minute. Lina devised a sure-fire plan. Lina sighed and sat down, looking at Zel from the corner of her eye.  
"You're right, I bet you don't know how to dance. Everybody else can. It's simple. But I bet you can't dance. I bet you're the worst dancer ever," she said. To her satisfaction, the vein above Zel's right eye bulged slightly in annoyance. Assault on his ego; strike one. _Hook..._  
"I don't care about what other people think of me," Zelgadis said quietly. Lina laughed.  
"Bull! You DO care about what other people think of you, otherwise you wouldn't have searched so hard for your cure!" she exclaimed. Zel had nothing to say to that, so Lina continued.  
"And what would Amelia think? The Seyruun family throws this huge party, she invites us, and you sit here and act all melancholy and depressed. Is that any way to show your appreciation?"  
The vein bulged a little more. Assault on his courteousness; strike two. _Line..._  
"I'm not one known for his civility," Zelgadis countered. "Amelia knows that."  
"That doesn't mean you don't have good manners," Lina retorted. "As far as I've seen, you're the perfect gentlemen when it comes to polite society. You're certainly better than me when it comes to dealing with higher-ups and officials."  
"Point taken," Zelgadis grumbled. Lina smiled and looked in Xelloss's general direction. She waited until Zel saw what she was looking at, then:  
"Xelloss is a great dancer," she said simply.  
The vein looked ready to explode. Zelgadis got up from his seat. Assault on his ego; strike three. _...And sinker..._  
Zelgadis held out his hand to Lina.  
"Come on," he said. "I'll show you who the better dancer is." Lina grinned up at him and took his hand.  
"It's about time," she said as she followed him to the dance floor. Zelgadis didn't say a word. He paused at the outside ring of dancers, but Lina pushed him on until they were in the center of the dance floor.  
The people stared and pointed, but Zelgadis ignored them all. He'd show them who the REAL Lord of the Dance was...  
The dance floor was nearly empty as the strains of the last song faded away. Everyone was in a circle at the edge of the floor, leaving Lina and Zelgadis as the only couple.  
Zelgadis held Lina's small frame close to him as he whispered, "You know I can't forgive you for doing this to me."  
"I know," Lina whispered back, smiling. "I know."  
The band started again, this time with a faster, upbeat song.  
The music began, and they danced.

_ The moonlight...  
Shines down interstellar beams  
And the groove tonight  
Is something more than you've ever seen  
The stars and planets taking shape  
A stolen kiss has come too late_

The crowd gasped in awe as the two dancers began their progressive dance. Lina and Zelgadis traveled the line of dance like a hurricane, with lightning quick pivots and spins and fluid movements. "They dance like professionals!" the people whispered among themselves. Nobody could believe that the outspoken redhead and the strange, calm man could dance like... well, like this.

_In the moonlight  
Carry on, keep romancing,  
Carry on, carry on dancing  
In the moonlight  
Carry on, keep romancing,  
Carry on, carry on dancing_

"How do you feel, Lina? With all these people watching us. Doesn't it make you nervous?" Zelgadis asked as he released Lina into a spin.  
"I feel energized," she replied as she came out of the spin, paused for a beat, then pivoted. "Why don't we show them what we're really made of?" She grinned as Zelgadis caught her right hand and pulled her closer to him.  
"Why not?" he murmured, and returned her smile easily. Who cared if these people were horrified by him? Let them gawk and point. It was his happiness that mattered.

_You're never safe 'till you see the dawn  
And if the clock strikes past midnight  
The hope is gone  
To move under..._

The clock struck 11. Amelia, finished scolding Xelloss for his impertinent behavior, made her way to the front of the crowd.  
"Why isn't anyone dancing?" she asked a young woman her own age as she pushed past the people.  
"There is! This really hot guy and a short flat-chested girl are out there," the young woman replied, and another girl nodded.  
"They're so oblivious to everything!"  
"If I was dancing with a hunk like that, I'd be oblivious to other people, too!"  
"She may be under-developed, but MAN!" a young guy said, and whistled. "She sure can move!"  
"Who cares if she's flat-chested; the girl's got SPUNK!"  
_Hot guy? Short, flat-chested girl?_ Amelia thought as she neared the dance floor. _If I didn't know any better, I'd say that's-_  
"Zelgadis!?" Amelia exclaimed, her jaw dropping open as she watched the chimera released Lina into another spin. "And Lina?!"

_The moonlight  
Carry on, keep romancing,  
Carry on, carry on dancing  
In the moonlight  
Carry on, keep romancing  
Carry on, carry on dancing_

Xelloss appeared next to Amelia, who stared, transfixed, at her friends on the dance floor.  
"Did you know Zelly-chan could dance like that?" he asked the princess.  
The princess shook her head.

_Move. Closer. Passion. Stronger. _

Zelgadis pulled Lina close to him, his arm wrapped around her small frame in anticipation of a sprint. (1)  
_I haven't felt this alive in years_, Zelgadis thought.  
"Zelgadis," Lina whispered, feeling the warmth and aura his presence emanated.  
"Yes Lina?" Zelgadis replied. He was nearly overwhelmed by her scent - that of hot cinnamon. He never recalled Lina wearing perfume before, why tonight? But it didn't matter, because Lina was always Lina and nothing would ever change that.  
"I think I'm falling in l-"

_There's a magic only two can tell  
In the dark night  
Ultra violet is a wicked spell  
The stars and planets taking shape  
A stolen kiss has come too late_

That was all Lina managed to murmur before the beat changed and she had to spin away or risk losing their rhythm. Zelgadis pulled her back in, but now they were back to moving faster and he didn't have a chance to ask her what she meant to say.  
"Why is that gorgeous guy dancing with a runt like her?" Zelgadis heard briefly as he and Lina moved closer to the outside of the dance floor. A hearty blush befell his cheeks. Lina laughed, but not before Fireballing the girl who had made the runt comment.  
"They're not talking about me, you know," Zelgadis insisted. Lina laughed again.  
"Of course they are. You're not a monster to all people, you know. I'll bet you that any one of those girls out there would give their right arm to be in my place right now."  
"Surely you jest."  
"Not at all."  
"I don't believe you."  
"You don't have to." Lina vaguely felt a touch of jealousy in the pit of her stomach. Zelgadis could have any woman he wanted. They were all ready and willing, even if Zel didn't realize that. What if he didn't want to hang out with a little girl like her? Lina knew she wasn't as well endowed as some people. But was Zelgadis really that shallow? No, he couldn't be, Lina just wouldn't believe it.  
"Lina?" His voice brought her out of her introspection. "Are you okay? You nearly missed a step."  
"I'm just thinking," Lina replied. She raised her arm, in sync with Zel's, and spun in place.

_In the moonlight  
Carry on, keep romancing,  
Carry on, carry on dancing  
In the moonlight  
Carry on, keep romancing  
Carry on, carry on dancing_ "And what were you thinking?" Zelgadis pressed. The song was nearing its conclusion. Somehow they had managed to end up right back in the middle.  
"Who are we making jealous, Zel?" Lina asked, a playful smile on her lips and a mischievous glint in her eyes. They slowed their pace, and Lina did one final, extravagant pivot.  
"Everyone, Lina," Zelgadis replied. He looked into her eyes, realizing what had been missing in his life. And there she was, standing right in front of him.

_Moving on... Moving all night_

"Everyone."

* * *

1 - Sprint: A move in the tango where (typically) the man pulls the woman close to him, then spins her out fully until they are in a (reasonably) straight line, then pulls her back in. 


End file.
